Kane County Development Committee Chair Richard Williams convened a special meeting Aug. 1 for the Development Department’s 2026 budget presentation, during which Director Mark Van Kirkhoff outlined staff reorganization and a proposal to raise building permit fees effective Jan. 1.

Van Kirkhoff said the reorganization reflects transfers from the former Office of Community Reinvestment and internal promotions. “We’re generally consistently revenue positive, by anywhere from 800,000 to a million,” he told the committee when summarizing the department’s finances.

The department reported an earlier head count of 22 positions (20 full time, two part time). Five positions transferred from OCR earlier this year raised the tally to 27 before planned retirements and attrition; the proposed 2026 budget staffs 24 positions. The plan includes reinstating manager positions for building and planning and adding an assistant director transferred from OCR.

Van Kirkhoff said the department’s general fund proposal is revenue positive by about $1,159,000 and that total permit-fee revenue is projected to rise by roughly $80,000 in 2026. The committee discussed a planned building-permit-fee increase to take effect Jan. 1; Van Kirkhoff and others said the county has not adjusted those fees since 2019 and that the increases would apply only to projects in unincorporated Kane County.

The department is also seeking capital funding to reconfigure the fourth-floor office layout to accommodate transferred staff; Van Kirkhoff said a resolution requesting that funding will go before the administration committee and then the full county board on Sept. 9. Van Kirkhoff asked for the committee’s support when the resolution is presented.

Committee members praised the consolidation and staff moves, noting the department expects cost savings from the reorganization. Williams said the combination of programs has produced efficiencies and that some salary increases will be paid from grant funds rather than the general fund.

The committee permitted remote attendance for a member who had asked to appear online earlier in the meeting. No formal policy votes on the budget were recorded at this meeting; Van Kirkhoff’s presentation was informational and will return to committee and to the full board for formal action.

Less critical details: Van Kirkhoff said the department expects ongoing increases in solar-related permit activity and that an economic-development task force with local businesses will review permit timing and costs. A motion to adjourn was moved and seconded at the meeting’s close and carried.